Monthly Archives: February 2012

myhabit

Amazon’s flash-sale site going luxe

myhabit

Amazon’s members-only flash-sale site MyHabit is launching its first designer tab, with the likes of Thakoon, Valentino and Balmain going on offer at up to 60 percent.

Adding to its women’s, men’s, children’s and home categories, the site is teaming up with top fashion houses including Bibhu Mohapatra, Costume National and Alejandro Ingelmo for the high-end category.

Discounts will be in keeping with other MyHabit sales, with the sale to commence 12 PM EST Monday, February 6.
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Bono Facebook

Bono to become a Facebook billionaire

Bono Facebook

U2 rocker bono is about to make $1 billion, thanks to his 2009 investment in Facebook.

Bono’s investment company Elevation Partners bought $210 million worth of shares in the social networking site almost two years ago.

This week, the site has been valued at $65 billion, meaning that Bono and his company’s share of the business is now valued at a whopping $975 million.
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Mazda MX-5 Special Edition

Mazda MX-5 Miata Special Edition

Mazda MX-5 Special Edition

Mazda is to launch a limited-edition model of its popular MX-5 sportscar at the Chicago Auto Show next week.

The Japanese brand said that only 450 Special Edition variants of the MX-5 will be produced, boasting an upgraded roof and new interior.

Since its launch in 1989, the MX-5 Miata has become the world’s best-selling two-seat roadster and is a popular — and much cheaper — alternative to high-end models from the likes of Porsche and BMW.
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Hotel Indigo Berlin

Hotel Indigo opens its doors in Europe

Hotel Indigo Berlin

InterContinental-owned boutique chain Hotel Indigo has opened its first property in continental Europe.

The Hotel Indigo Berlin opened its doors February 3, marking the brand’s first entry into Europe outside of the United Kingdom.

Designed with Hotel Indigo’s trademark ’boutique’ feel, the property contains 81 rooms, which are finished in light wood and white but have been individualized with color to give them the feel of an ‘artist’s studio’.
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Starwood SPG

Starwood launches ‘Richest Elite’ traveler benefits

Starwood SPG

International hotel chain Starwood has unveiled a major revamp of its Starwood Preferred Guest loyalty program, targeting elite travelers with a host of new benefits.

The chain, which operates Sheraton, Westin, W Hotels, Le Meridien and St Regis, says that it’s responding to the global uptick in travel to target the ‘sophisticated’ market, which it believes has become ‘jaded’ about traditional schemes.

Among the most notable aspects of the change is a new service called Your24, which will let frequent travelers pick their own check-in and check-out times within a 24-hour timeframe — so if you check in at one property at 10 PM, you won’t have to check out until 10PM the next day.
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Louis Vuitton Roma Etoile boutique

Louis Vuitton Rome Etoile Maison

Louis Vuitton Roma Etoile boutique

With the opening of the first Louis Vuitton Maison in Italy on 29th January 2012, the world renowned trunk and luggage-maker marks a major achievement in its history.

Louis Vuitton’s 14th Maison is called Roma Etoile. It was designed by the architect Peter Marino who renovated this former Cinema Corso in a modern artistic way.

The heart of the shop is structured around a monumental staircase, a tribute to Rome’s Baroque architecture.
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San Jose California

Silicon Valley braces for Facebook millionaires

San Jose California

Even before Facebook goes public, Silicon Valley is buzzing in anticipation of the “instant millionaires” that may soon be looking for ways to spend their wealth.

Eight years after Mark Zuckerberg founded the company in Harvard, the stock market debut is expected to value the social media giant at as much as $100 billion.

While Zuckerberg and other longtime staffers stand to benefit the most, the initial public offering, which is expected as early as Wednesday, could also make millionaires out of much of the company’s rank-and-file.
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Versace Etoile De La Mer sunglasses

Versace Étoile De La Mer Eyewear Collection

Versace Etoile De La Mer sunglasses

Donatella Versace’s latest eyewear collection Etoile de la Mer was unveiled during Haute Couture Fashion Week last Monday in Paris.

The campaign image features supermodel Gisèle Bündchen, photographed by Mert & Marcus at an abandoned pool in the California desert.

The collection, which will be available in Versace boutiques and selected retailers worldwide from March 2012, focuses on just two sunglasses and one optical model.
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Pigeon

Chinese Buyer Pays $328000 for a Pigeon

Pigeon

A Chinese shipping magnate has paid a world record-high $328,000 for a Dutch pigeon, according to PIPA, an international pigeon auction house.

The buyer of the most-expensive pigeon on record, PIPA said, is Hu Zhen Yu, who runs a shipbuilding company in China.

He bought the bird for breeding rather than racing in China, where pigeon fancying is a fast growing sport and big business.
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Richard Mille RM057

Richard Mille RM057 Jackie Chan

Richard Mille RM057

Here’s a look at the Richard Mille RM057. This Exclusive Timepiece is a tribute to The Chinese Year of the Dragon and to Action Actor Jackie Chan.

The RM057, successor to the $1.7 million RM056 commemorates the Year of the Dragon that lasts between January 23 2012 and February 9, 2013.

It has a movement baseplate of pure, deep Black Onyx and a dazzling golden dragon engraving and colored scales that grips the tourbillon bridge in one of his claws.
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Champagne Bath

A Champagne Bath on Valentine’s Day

Champagne Bath

London’s Cadogan hotel has launched a new ‘Champagne bath menu’ in time for the most romantic day of the year.

All 120 bottles of Champagne that it takes to fill one of the hotel’s baths will be the task of one’s own personal butler assigned by the hotel.

The butlers will be sure to place some chocolate covered strawberries and a complimentary bottle of vintage Champagne within easy reach of the bath.
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Sunseeker 155 Yacht

Sunseeker 155 Yacht

Sunseeker 155 Yacht

UK yacht builder Sunseeker presents the new flagship tri-deck motor yacht Sunseeker 155, which is currently in build and is due to be launched in 2014.

With a 4500 nautical mile range, this is the first ever semi-displacement, round bilge and long keel hull from Sunseeker.

This yacht will reportedly have 40 percent more interior space than the company’s current flagship, the Sunseeker 40M.
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Trump Toronto lobby

Trump hotel opens in Toronto

Trump Toronto lobby

Luxury hotel chain Trump has opened its latest international property, adding another 261 rooms to Toronto’s booming hotel scene.

The 65-storey Trump International Hotel & Tower Toronto is Canada’s tallest residential building and its second-tallest structure, boasting both condos and the second international outpost of Trump Hotels.

Highlights include a huge mosaic and a three-dimensional cherry blossom branch behind the reception desk, which was handmade from Czech crystals.
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Jessica Alba and Naomi Watts

Montblanc opens first “concept store” in China

Montblanc boutique Sanlitun Beijing

Luxury brand Montblanc, is opening one of the worldʼs most innovative concept stores, with the launch of its four-storey interactive Boutique in Sanlitun, Beijing.

This is the largest Montblanc Boutique anywhere in the world and by far the brandʼs most audacious, creative and technologically interactive concept store yet.

Visitors are invited to take an audio-operated guided tour through the experience upon arrival, which is delivered via a handheld electronic device.
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Vertu Constellation Quest Ferrari

Vertu Constellation Quest Ferrari smartphone

Vertu has unveiled the Constellation Quest Ferrari, a luxury smartphone inspired by the Ferrari 458 Italia sports car.

The most striking feature of the product is the iconic Cavallino Rampante, intrinsically crafted from polished stainless steel and embedded in the titanium battery cover. The Ferrari logo is embossed in the leather on the front of the handset.

The luxury handset is meticulously crafted from the most luxurious of materials such as polished sapphire crystal, Ferrari calf leather and polished black ceramic.
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president obama car

Obama’s old Chrysler 300C up for sale on eBay

president obama car

A Chrysler 300C once owned by Barack Obama has been listed for sale on eBay. The starting bid is $1 million — 66 times the vehicle’s blue book value.

The 2005 Chrysler 300C was leased and driven by President Obama while he was an Illinois state senator from 2004 through the summer of 2007.

The digital auction, which is being managed by seasoned eBay car seller Lisa Czibor, claims to have documentation proving that Obama once leased the car.
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Hot Dog Kobe beef Lobster

The World’s Most Expensive Hot Dog Costs $100

Hot Dog Kobe beef Lobster

DougieDog, a Frankfurter outfit in Vancouver, Canada is offering what is now the world’s most expensive hot dog: the $100 ‘Dragon Dog.’

The Dragon Dog is made with a bratwurst  infused with hundred-year-old Louis XIII cognac, which costs more than $2,000 a bottle.

Other ingredients include Kobe beef seared in olive and truffle oil, fresh lobster and a secret picante sauce.
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Mercedez Benz Berlin

Berlin airport to feature Mercedes-Benz in a big way

Mercedez Benz Berlin

Luxury automaker Mercedes-Benz is to play a major role in Germany’s forthcoming air hub, Berlin Brandenburg International, when it opens in June.

A partnership between Mercedes and Berlin Brandenburg will leave passengers in no doubt that they have landed in the home of luxury cars when they land at the new airport, with Mercedes-Benz featuring prominently across the new airport.

Airport authorities said this past week that a ‘star tower’, topped by an eight-meter-wide Mercedes star, will be constructed on the route into the airport.
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